The United States launched a wide series of airstrikes against Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen on Saturday, beginning what American officials described as a larger campaign intended to stop attacks on Red Sea shipping.
President Donald Trump said he had ordered the military action and threatened to continue using overwhelming force until the Iran-aligned movement ended attacks on commercial and naval vessels. US Central Command described the strikes as the start of a large-scale operation across Yemen. Aircraft from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea took part.
Explosions were reported in the capital, Sanaa, and in Saada, the Houthis’ northern stronghold. Strikes also reached Hodeida, Bayda, Marib, Dhamar and other provinces, according to reports gathered after the operation began. Residents of Sanaa said repeated blasts shook the Eastern Geraf neighbourhood, a densely populated district that also contains Houthi military and political facilities.
Casualty figures rise after the first raids
The Houthi-run Health Ministry said on Sunday that at least 31 people had been killed and 101 wounded. A subsequent figure reported by Al Jazeera put the death toll at 32, including four children and a woman in Saada. Because the figures came from authorities controlled by one party to the conflict and could not be independently confirmed in the supplied material, they remain attributed to that ministry.
US national security adviser Michael Waltz said the attacks had killed multiple Houthi leaders, but the available evidence did not identify them. US officials said the operation was expected to continue, potentially for weeks. The March 15 strikes were the first against the Yemen-based group during Trump’s second administration and were conducted solely by the United States, according to an American official cited by AP.
Trump said the goal was to protect American shipping and military assets and restore freedom of navigation. He also warned Iran to stop supporting the Houthis and said Washington would hold Tehran accountable for the group’s actions. Iran condemned the operation as a violation of international law, while its foreign minister rejected US demands about Iranian policy.
Shipping dispute tied to Gaza war
The strikes followed a Houthi announcement that the group would resume attacks on Israeli-linked vessels in response to Israel’s blockade of aid entering Gaza. The warning covered the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Arabian Sea. No new Houthi ship attack had been reported between that warning and the US operation.
Since late 2023, however, the Houthis had launched more than 100 attacks on shipping, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war. The campaign sank two vessels, killed four sailors and forced some operators onto longer routes around southern Africa. A ceasefire in Gaza in January had brought a period of relative calm before the group threatened to restart its campaign.
The Houthis disputed Trump’s description of the threat, saying their restrictions applied to Israeli navigation rather than international shipping generally. Their political bureau called the US strikes a war crime and promised a response.
The operation therefore opened another phase in a conflict that links Yemen’s internal war, maritime trade and the wider confrontation involving Israel, Iran and armed groups aligned with Tehran. The Houthis control much of Yemen after a decade of conflict and have retained substantial military capability even as other Iranian partners, including Hamas and Hezbollah, suffered heavy losses.
The new US campaign also began as Washington was trying to engage Iran over its nuclear programme. Trump had sent a letter offering a route back to negotiations while simultaneously increasing pressure on Tehran. The airstrikes and direct warning to Iran added a military dimension to that effort.
What began on March 15 was not presented by Washington as a single retaliatory raid. US officials framed it as the opening of a sustained effort, while the Houthis promised escalation in return—raising the prospect of further civilian harm and renewed disruption along one of the world’s most important trade routes.
